Warm Hands, Cold Heart
by CigarsAllAround
Summary: A heartbroken Rogue heads to Canada to track Sabretooth down. He ran and broke her heart, and now she wants to break his jaw. What will Victor have to say when a southerner full of attitude comes his way, though? She's cradling his baby, but he's more interested in hookers, bar fights and motorcycles. Rogue/Sabretooth. Major AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Warm Hands, Cold Heart**

**Chapter One**

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As a damp October came to a fitting end, it was a blustery day outside. The fierce winds were toiling with a wave of crisp autumn leaves, golden, rain-kissed and plentiful as they were finely tuned into frostbitten weapons by Ice Man's class. The month had been pitted with highs and lows, fights and friendships, feasts and a fire in the kitchen, but one of the X-Men's star recruits had fallen foul to a shoddy stain on the patchwork quilt of life. Rogue had been bitten by the enemy within and her heart couldn't contain the poison.

Rogue's room, half decorated in soothing green paint, had been a lonely place to be before her life had imploded with the break of her bed. It had all started last year, when she had fallen headfirst and clammy-faced into a dangerous fling with an animal, a wall of feral muscle and clenched teeth. Love hadn't been spiked through their tongues, but their bodies had gotten to know each other many times over, and then, as quick as it had started, the animal had broken free from its chain and she was left broken, alone and licking her wounds. Yet, her loneliness had been plugged eventually by a special appearance: the marriage of Mississippi egg and Canadian spiced sperm. And, here he was, the beam of powerful light in her hour of need. He was her scowling little star, her spot of chubby sunshine on a cloudy day, and as he babbled, she rubbed her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. He was pretty as a picture and cute to boot. His eyes were like molten chocolate chips, and he was almost good enough to eat. He was the cherry on her pride sundae and she was proud to call his wriggling little limbs the greatest chink in her beaten, southern-style armour because she was his, and he had saved her from the heartbreak that had been consuming her battled soul.

"Mama loves ya," Rogue whispered sweetly, as he smiled at her, his chunky feet kicking in the air. "Ya look so pretty when ya do that, darlin'. Are ya goin' to knock ya daddy's genes into a pool of gators an' smile for meh again? Ah think ya should, an' do ya know why?" Her finger gently tapped his button nose as her light emerald eyes glistened. "Ya make meh forget how much Ah miss a certain somebody, but don't tell anybody Ah said that, okay?"

The baby's eyes danced with laughter and he smiled widely, making Rogue wonder if he was always going to be this happy-go-lucky. She found herself praying he'd find a steady future out there when he was ready to leave her side, though it made her miserable to think she would be left all alone once he had found his way. With a sigh, she tried to secure the last of his clothes in place and struggled to pull the baby's chalk-blue jeans up to his hips. The older her son became, the more energy he seemed to store in that little body of his, and he only released it when she wanted to dress him, bath him, or take him to Miss Grey for a check-up.

She glanced down at the twisting tot and she shook her head, finding his inability to stay still amusing. "Let mama pull ya pants up, sugar. It's cold out there an' if we're goin' to the store ya don't want tah be makin' friends with the wind." With a triumphant whoop, she finally snapped them gently into place. "There ya go, all done. Ya easier tah handle than ya daddy ever was, too. Ah want ya to turn out like meh, anyway. Ah'm more polite, better behaved an' Ah don't stink like mean old beer an' yucky cigarettes." She stuck her tongue out and pulled a face. "Good little boys don't smell like that, they smell like ya, instead. Oh yes they do, ya mah good little boy."

A chuckling Charles Xavier was sitting in his wheelchair, watching the scene unfold from the doorway as he glanced inside her bedroom, pleased to see it looked relatively clean, as opposed to her teenage years. "Motherhood suits you well, Rogue," he informed her good-naturedly, a warm look directed toward the young woman.

She gazed over at the bald-headed man with a surprised stare as she picked the baby off the rug and cradled him in her arms. "Ah don't believe ya, Professor," she said, standing to her bare feet with ease. "How long have ya been watchin' meh, huh?"

"Not for long," he replied, gesturing to the carpet in front of him. "Do you have a spare moment to put up with my company? I come bearing biscuits."

Her eyes were drawn to the unopened packet of chocolate chip cookies balanced on his lap and she beamed, almost feeling a sense of happiness. "Anybody with cookies is welcome in here," she answered, perching on the edge of the bed and scooping up a colourful dog with a rattle inside. "He loves the toy, by the way. Thank ya for buyin' it."

"It was my pleasure," the Professor said, a genuine look of intrigue on his face as he wheeled inside Rogue's room, not wishing to allow her to sink into her state of depression for a moment longer. He paused beside her, watching the delighted child grasp the toy and shake it with an excited amount of noise. "He certainly seems to be enamoured with it."

"He is," the girl whispered, dropping a kiss to the baby's downy hair. "He loves it just as much as Ah love those cookies ya tryin' tah bribe meh with." She glanced at the Professor with a note of seriousness on her pale features. "An' ya know Ah love them, so what did ya want tah talk tah meh about?"

He began to open the packet with a smile, even though a sigh graced his wise lips. "You're a very smart young lady, Rogue. Many people twice your age would take a cookie without questioning my motives first."

The southerner shrugged, leaning forward and stealing a crumbling cookie before he even had a chance to fully open the pack. "Ah have mah smart moments, Professor. They come an' go every couple of years. Now, what did ya want tah talk about?"

Charles cleared his throat, knowing this would be difficult for the heartbroken girl to discuss, but he wanted to usher in a new state of awareness in the single mother's life. "The child's father," he informed her, his mind reaching out to hers. "This doesn't need to be an upsetting and tiring time, you know. And keeping him away will do more harm than good, to both you, and your son."

"Sperm donor," Anna corrected him, munching on her cookie and rolling her eyes. "He was nothin' but a sperm donor, Professor. Ah know ya mean well, but Ah never asked him to run away with fear in his heart, he did that by his lonesome. Ah have more balls than him, too. Ah'm raisin' this baby because he wanted no part of a family life. Anyway, he's damaged goods. Scott told meh so!"

"Yes, well, Scott is unable to step aside his hatred for the Brotherhood," he explained sagely, attempting to bring forth his views in a way she would understand. Setting the cookies down beside the girl, he steeped his fingers together. "Rogue, a man is only as guarded as his past has made him. Perhaps, the time apart has soothed his urge to travel?"

"Travel?! Ya call it travellin'?" she scoffed, helping herself to another cookie. "Ah call it duckin' out on his responsibilities because he's a dirty dog who needs to be snipped, stuffed and fed to a bunch of liquor hungry hicks."

The Professor sighed, deep in thought. "I guess you don't wish to know about the information I've discovered, then?" He saw the hopeful look in her eyes and he reassured her with a pat to her knee. "According to cerebro, he's settled in a small town in Canada, north-west of Edmonton to be precise."

"He's actually settled somewhere?" Rogue said quietly, her words slow and stifled with surprise. She thought back to the last conversation/screaming match they'd had, and she wrinkled her button nose, a rush of anger stampeding through her veins. "Ah'm goin' to drive up there and kick his ass, Professor. Ah swear to God, Ah'm takin' the baby with meh and he can watch meh kick his daddy's ass from Canada to the gates of Hell." Her posture changed, her back suddenly poker straight as she planned her road trip, readying herself to kick feral butt. "In fact, Ah'm pretty sure Ah'm goin' to wring his wrinkly old chicken neck till he's seein' southern stars." She grabbed another cookie, stuffing the entire snack into her mouth with a huff.

Charles remained silent throughout her tirade, although he wasn't easily swayed by her show of fury. He knew her true feelings were hidden under lock and key inside her heart. "As long as you're happy, Rogue," he replied, his attention turning towards the baby playing happily with the toy in her arms. "And what about your son, does he enjoy having a newly registered name?"

She blushed slightly, feeling a little mortified it had taken her three months to pick a name for her baby, but she hadn't wanted to make a mistake that would lead him to be teased for the rest of his life. Swallowing the half-chewed cookie, she nodded. "For some time he thought 'Pudgy Legs' was his name, but Ah'm hopin' to break the habit now," she answered, tickling the boy's tummy. "At least Ah hope Ah can, when Ah call him by his name he doesn't even look at meh, so Ah'll carry on callin' him 'Pudgy Legs', even when he starts school," she giggled, joking her way through her anxiety.

"Ah, I see," the Professor chuckled, in good spirits. "What was the name you chose in the end, Rogue?"

Holding the baby up, his little socked feet brushing against her thighs, she tenderly watched her son's face with a glimmer of satisfaction. "Ah called him, wait for it, because this is a really important moment in his life." She made sure the baby was facing Charles before she continued. "Professor, meet Logan James Creed. Ah love the name James; it was mah granddaddy's name. So, Ah might just call him that and only use his full name when he's in trouble."

Charles reached for the child's delicate hand and he shook it with an air of prominence. "It's very nice to meet you, James," he uttered, bowing his head gracefully. "I do hope you approve of your name. After all, 'Pudgy Legs' might be looked down upon in some circles of society."

Giggling, the happy-go-lucky Anna kissed James' cheek. "Ah think he'll grow to love his name, Professor, Ah really do. As ya say, by the time he reaches thirty, Ah don't think he'll want to teach a class in the Danger Room with the name, Mr. P. Legs."

The Professor couldn't help but smile at the girl's optimism. "So, you believe the child will become an X-Man?" he asked, impressed by her foresight.

"Of course Ah do," she said cheerfully, setting the baby on her knee again. "Mah little man is goin' to be a star pupil, a star fighter and a star X-Man. Ah'm sure he's got a bright future ahead of him. Ah don't mind if he's mutant or human, but he's already special and Ah know the best is yet to come."

He smiled warmly, wondering if it was possible the young lady was correct. James was certainly the son of two powerful, yet stubborn mutants. "Speaking of mutations, Rogue, how is the ring faring?"

Anna's attention dropped to the silver band encasing a circle of pale skin on her ring finger. "It's great, fantastic even, and it's stopped mah skin in its tracks without meh havin' to dress like a mummy for the rest of mah life. Ah don't think Ah ever thanked ya for investin' ya time and money into creatin' it. James thanks ya, too, because he wouldn't be here otherwise." She beamed happily, her thoughts suddenly careering toward another goal. "And Victor will be thankin' ya eventually - once Ah hand his balls back in a sack stained with vengeance."

The man began to massage his temples, worried for his own sanity. "I do hope you avoid angering Sabretooth, Rogue. I've only given you the information so you're able to reunite him with his son, you know. I never intended to cause a small war in the Canadian mountains."

"He lives in the mountains, the Rocky Mountains?" she muttered, blinking as she thought about the trip ahead. "Ah'll have to take the jeep with the snow tyres, it's goin' to be cold up there when the hood of the truck hits Victor square on the ass."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to Peppa and Wandering for the reviews!**

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**Warm Hands, Cold Heart**

**Chapter 2**

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"Rogue, where are you going?" a voice asked from the doorway, suspicion already settling in to the owner of the tongue. "I didn't know you'd been assigned a mission."

She glanced up from the suitcase she was packing and paused with a dozen or so changes of baby clothes in her hands. "Ah haven't been," she said, shrugging. "Ah'm goin' up tah Canada, just meh an' the baby, Scott."

Cyclops crossed his arms, looking every bit as stern as he had when she was still a teen who loved to miss curfew. "You're going to look for _him,_ aren't you?"

"Yep," Rogue responded with another shrug and returned to her packing. "Meh an' Pudgy Legs are goin' tah find Victor because he deserves another chance tah be in our lives." She stared at Scott as she began to zip up the heavy forest-green case. "An' Ah don't need tah hear how ya don't approve of mah choices, Scott. Ah love him an' that's all that matters."

The frustrated member of the X-Men entered the room and shook his head. "You need to see sense, Rogue. He's dangerous, and when he found out you were pregnant, he ran away. What kind of father does that make him? In fact, what kind of man does that make him when he knows how much he means to you?"

"Don't!" she snapped sharply, standing up and glaring at him. "Ya have no right tah be sayin' those things, Scott. If ya want tah know what kind of man Victor is then Ah'll tell ya. He's the type of guy who ain't bothered about what other folks think of him." She took a step towards Cyclops and set her hands on her hips. "He's the type who will grumble 'bout what a pain in the ass Ah am, but when Ah need somethin' he'll run through hell an' high water tah make sure Ah get it. An' when Ah'm scared or hurtin', he'll hold meh till Ah'm feelin' better again. He's done all of those things, an' he ran because he didn't think he would be a good daddy to our baby -"

"Which is the only decent thing he's done for you and your son," Scott stated, interrupting her. "Don't you see how he's played you, Rogue? You're sticking up for him when he's left you and that baby in the dust!"

Her wild green eyes crackled with anger and she snatched her alarm clock off her bedside table. "If ya don't turn around an' walk out of here right now, Ah'm goin' to be playin' throw the clock at the Cyclops," she warned fiercely, gripping the ticking plastic in her hand. "Ah mean it, Scott, Ah won't have folks trash talkin' mah James' daddy. Ya have tah Ah count tah five an' if ya ain't left mah bedroom, ya goin' tah be visitin' ya fiancée with a mighty bruise on ya forehead."

"Acting like you did when you were a teenager isn't going to help the situation," he murmured, walking to the door. "I'm trying to help you because I care, Rogue. You're going to get hurt if you run to him, but I'm not going to stop you, okay?"

"Ah won't be runnin'," Rogue said firmly, dropping the clock onto her unmade bed. She glanced at the baby napping in the crib and returned a daring look on Scott. "Ah'm takin' ya truck, that one ya love just as much as Jean."

Scott grimaced in the doorway and swallowed his first answer of no. "Fine," he said in an uptight tone. "I don't agree with you going, I think you could do better than Sabretooth, but fine, you can take my truck. Just don't let him walk all over you again, Rogue."

"Ah won't," she answered, turning her back on him as she returned to her packing. "Things are gonna be different this time, Ah promise, Scott."

"I hope so," Scott uttered, and left the headstrong girl to finish dismantling her life.

She sighed heavily to herself and closed the door after he'd walked down the hall. "Ah guess there's gonna be some more fightin' an' yellin' when Ah get tah where Ah'm goin'," she muttered to herself and went to work filling her old duffle bag with her clothes.

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Rogue had packed up the last of the baby essentials and she was soon on the road, a snake of excitement coiling around her heart as she drove through the mansion gates and greeted the empty Westchester streets. It was a cool day here in New York, bordering on cold, but not quite reaching there, so she was happy to be hiding under a woollen knit sweater and a pair of charcoal-shaded leggings. Sadly, she had failed to shift the baby weight, after binging on cookies because Victor had been an asshole, but there was a shred of hope in the dull skies clouding above her, and she was going to be beating a circle of troubles over the coming days.

She smiled in the rear view mirror, watching her baby watch her. He was sitting in the back, still in his jeans, but this time she had coupled his denim with a green on black flannel shirt. Her little boy still looked good enough to eat as he rested in his car seat, sucking on his fingers and dribbling everywhere. "James, ya want mama to tell ya a story as we drive? Ah think it's time Ah told ya all about how Ah came to stay with the X-Men an' how Ah met ya stupid daddy."

Honking the truck horn, she frowned and flipped off the man in the Honda in front of her, annoyed he had manoeuvred into her lane without indicating. "Jerk!" she called out, knowing he couldn't hear, but it still made her feel better. "Anyway," she sighed, shaking her head. "Mama was fifteen at the time an' her Aunt Carrie didn't know what to do when Ah fell for a boy whose name was Cody. He was mah first crush an' we were hangin' out at some wild party where folks were drinkin' too much beer. Ya see, mama had always loved the thought of drinkin' beer, but Ah knew well enough tah stay clear of it when Ah was that age 'cause Carrie would have blistered mah butt."

The southerner puffed out her cheeks and tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she thought about those dark days when Cody had dropped into a coma. "But as Ah was talkin' tah Cody, we kissed, an' that's when mah mutation came along. To cut a long story short, the X-Men heard about meh because of this small campaign in mah hometown. The church folk there didn't like meh much an' they didn't say very nice things to meh at the time. Ah think they were just scared because Ah was different to them. Some people out there are small-minded, sugar, an' that's a sad fact about life."

She eased the truck closer to the freeway with her mind still on her past. There was no sadness in her voice because she had trampled across all the hurt now and it was behind her. "So, there was mama, on her own in this tiny alleyway in Caldecott an' Ah was real upset over everythin'. It was dark an' Ah had nowhere to go, but then Storm an' Cyclops walked over to meh an' the rest is history." She nodded, knowing she was weaving a decent tale for her little boy. "An' then Ah got older, an' the Professor realised Ah was feelin' real upset because mah skin wouldn't behave itself, so he gave meh this ring that Ah'm wearin'. By that time Ah was nineteen an' Ah rebelled by gettin' a job in this scary lookin' bar in a rough part of New York. Ah had to take three buses to get there, but Ah didn't mind because Ah found it excitin', even though it scared meh somethin' chronic at times."

Rogue heard joyful babble from the backseat and she nodded. "Yep, that's where Ah met ya naughty daddy. Ya see, the man who ran the bar wasn't bothered about mah age an' he gave meh a job, an' when Ah had to serve ya daddy one night, he took one look at meh – it was the longest look ever – an' he called me a… Ah can't tell ya the rest until ya older, but it wasn't very nice." She tried not to laugh at the memory. "He said Ah was too big for mah britches because Ah answered back an' Ah threw a bad word at him, then a bowl of peanuts. Ya daddy was mah fifth rude customer that night an' nobody would take meh seriously there. They all thought Ah was this silly, little girl who was too timid to say boo to a goose, so Ah said 'boo' to a Sabretooth, instead."

Indicating to the left, Rogue turned onto the road that would eventually lead her to the busy interstate. "Ya daddy didn't take too kindly to wearin' the peanuts an' he dragged meh over the bar by the front of mah shirt, and do ya know what he did? He started to spank meh! There was mama, layin' flat on the top of the bar an' tryin' to get away while blushin' like a sunburnt tomato, when his name was called from the cage. This wasn't like a cage ya would see a monkey in, though ya daddy does look a little like one, but that's beside the point. The bar was popular with really tough people because it held these fights in a ring inside a back room. At that point, ya daddy left meh alone, lit a cigarette and went stormin' off tah go play in the cage. He won all his matches an' when he came back, he told meh to keep mah nuts tah myself. Ah said somethin' about how there were at least one pair between us an' he started growlin'."

She smiled faintly as she reminisced, turning the casual glance to the rain threatening to fall from the clouds ahead. "He came back in the next night an' even though there were other folks tendin' the bar, he still approached meh an' ordered a drink. Ah tucked the bowl of peanuts behind the bar when Ah saw him comin' an' Ah think he appreciated that because he came in the next night, too. That was when he saved meh from this drunk man who was sayin' some things that would get ya in trouble with meh if ya ever shouted them at a lady ya met, James," she warned her son. "But don't ya worry because Ah would soon forgive ya for it. After that, meh and ya daddy got closer, an' then one day Ah found out about ya."

Her face faded into a fountain of depression and she mumbled the last part of the story. "Ya daddy grumbled at meh an' said Ah needed tah pack mah job in because it wasn't decent. He kept orderin' meh around, gettin' really grumpy about things, an' then nothin' – he ran away an' left meh on mah own! Seven months later ya were born, James, an' then mama turned twenty. Ya know what happened after that, but do ya know what we're doin' now?"

There was another happy gurgle from behind and she nodded. "Yeah, we're goin' tah turn ya stupid daddy's life upside down because he's not allowed tah leave us behind. Do ya know why that is? He has a responsibility to ya, firstly. Ah don't know if uses his brain often, but he should understand that without meh havin' tah tell him. An' we've also gotta prove Scott wrong after all those nasty things he's said about ya daddy. It's also because ya mama thinks she's in love with Sabretooth, Pudgy Legs. An' if a lady loves a man, she goes after him ten months after he fled. That's how ya mama deals with her love life, an' it might sound crazy tah the rest of the world, but ya daddy is goin' tah get a big shock when he sees us, an' Ah can't wait," she admitted, a naughty glint smouldering in her eyes. "Ah really can't wait."


End file.
